Sales Playbooks

A few weeks ago the folks at Kadient briefed me on their approach and their sales performance improvement tools.  As you would expect, I posed the chicken-and-egg question with respect to what order a company should implement Kadient’s tools versus installing and implementing a sales methodology.  I liked their answers.
I picked up a tweet from [...]

Here’s What’s Going On

ESR has a unique perspective on sales performance improvement. We don’t deliver sales training or sales consulting. We’re sales training industry observers, analysts, researchers and advisors to our clients on what works in sales effectiveness and training.
Here’s what’s been going on at ESR:

A large client in the financial services sector is working very hard [...]

Strategy 18: Become An Expert At Competitive Positioning

Hey, I have a proposition for you.
I had a really bad experience with Dearborn Trade Press (now Kaplan Financial Publishing) with my book, How Winners Sell, Second Edition. It’s no longer in print, although companies seem to be able to find copies somehow when I come in to present at their sales kick-offs and other [...]

Strategic Account Management: It’s Not Just A Sales Job.

One of the top firms among the 26 sales performance improvement providers ESR covers is Performance Methods, Inc. (PMI).  Founder and managing partner Steve Andersen is recognized as a thought-leader in the demanding and often misunderstood area of strategic account management. (Listen to Steve in an ESR/Podcast.)
To understanding what a strategic account management methodology is [...]

Trust

I’ve been very critical of sales tips during the past six months.  My column in Sales and Marketing Management Magazine about it as well.
The simple reason is that sales tips keep salespeople and their managers focused on tactics and shortcuts rather than investing the time and effort required for planning and executing a strategic approach [...]

Rolling Disclosure. Sure Steps To Losing A Sale.

I’ve heard the term “rolling disclosure” a few times on the political TV shows recently.
So far as I can tell, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was the first to use the term in 2001.  Matthews:  “He told us what he knew as soon as he knew it, not when it suited him. There was no ‘rolling [...]

There Are No Shortcuts To Sales Effectiveness

My friend Alan Ganapol says, “Always read the signs.  They’re out there.  You just have to read them.”
The signs today came in the form of notices that two of my recent articles were published.  They’re both on essentially the same subject. I felt compelled to share those with you.
The first article is in Business & Leadership, a Irish [...]

Early Failure is Better Than Late Failure

Donal Daly, CEO of The TAS Group, wrote a great post (Early failure is better than late failure) on his company’s blog that is more than worthy of your consideration. (Disclosure: The TAS Group is a subscriber to ESR’s research.)
In the post Donal discusses the not-often-enough-overcome challenge of effective qualification.  From the post:
When budgets are [...]

Sales Lessons From The Presidential Race

No matter what side you were on, here are a few observations, affirmations and truths, post-election, with respect to selling:

Strategy and tactics are equally important.  The purpose of executing tactics in a sales campaign is to drive a well-founded strategy.  Tactics without a strategy is like playing darts with your eyes closed.
Message! Not messages, messages, [...]

Business Acumen: A Critical Selling Capability

When I wrote How Winners Sell one of the most important messages I needed to communicate to my readers was this:  The timeless truth about sales is it’s all about money.  B2B sales is not about selling software or strategic advice or capital equipment.  It’s about your products and services improving your customer’s business.  I was very [...]